Beta3
Beta3 is a leaked beta fabricated approximately two weeks before Quake was released. Many things are quite similar to the final version, but there exist a few nuances. It appears to be in a state between the shareware version and the retail one, given that messages requesting the player to purchase the game appear when one approaches Episode 2: The Realm of Black Magic, Episode 3: The Netherworld, and Episode 4: The Elder World. However, the Episodes are completely playable. General Differences Graphical *The retail Help and Ordering screen had not yet been implemented. In its place, there exists a single screen placeholder that includes a hidden message at the bottom. Given the reference to "his hair," it is probably an inside joke about John Romero’s (usually long) hair. *The cursor only blinks. *There are various pixels on the Axe texture that use fullbright red pallette indices (as opposed to normal ones). This makes them appears to make them glow in the dark. *The Biosuit’s texture were unimplemented at the time. *A greenish sprite sequence uses itself after going through a Teleporter, as opposed to a white particle effect. The same sequence also appears in Qtest1. The sprites per se are converted from Doom. *The Vore's projectiles share the model of the Lavaballs and those that Chthon launches (rather than spiky purple orbs). * The Thunderbolt shares the same world model as that of the Rocket Launcher. Sound *The menu makes use of a noisy clanking sound effect when one selects an option. Miscellaneous *Quitting Quake from the menu simply exits without displaying any confirmation. Level Differences Start: Welcome to Quake! This is the initial map, which lets Ranger select a Difficulty and an Episode. It is titled "Welcome to Quake!" in place of "Introduction". Ranger can already discover the Dopefish here. The Well is located in the Water under the bridge leading to Normal Difficulty, and it’s accessible by going the way to the secret Nightmare mode Teleporter and firing at the wall panel in the corner just before Ranger enters the Teleporter, then rapidly returning to a recently lowered Elevator on the left side of the bridge. This explains why the panel references the Well of Wishes in the final version of Quake, despite the fact that it actually exists in the Crypt of Decay. E1M1: the Slipgate Complex The bridge that stretches over the initial Slime pit is activated by a timed Button in place of a permanent one. There exists another Button that is placed on the other side of that bridge for backtracking purposes. The Crates at the end of this level contain different textures. E1M2: Castle of the Damned Like the previous map, the Crates (which normally have the same textures as the ones in E1M1) that appear at the start of the map are textured differently from the final versions. However, they're also different from the ones in E1M1. E1M7: The House of Chthon The Buttons that activate the Electric Pylons are located on the beams, as opposed to existing on the side areas, whereas the Button that commences the electrocution contains a red logo and is on a higher platform than the final version. The Monster telefragging never occurs. E2M3: the Crypt of Decay There is neither a Well of Wishes nor anything existent where it would be located. E2M6: the Dismal Oubliette This map commences with a gauntlet out of an acquatic canyon before it reaches the final starting point. John Romero had to subtract this starting area in order to keep the level under the 1.4 MB file size capacity that had been set for BSPs at the time. Romero later released this section as E2M10: The Lost Entrance of the Dismal Oubliette.Planet Romero E3M4: the Haunted Halls This level exists in the slot for E3M4 as opposed to E3M7. Satan's Dark Delight exists in E3M5, while the Wind Tunnels is the secret level. E3M6: The Chambers of Torment The end area differs somewhat compared to its final version; there exists a pillar to the left and right of the Exit Gate, and a Shambler appears behind the Vores, whereas in the final two Fiends appear when Ranger arrives at the center of the bridge. It is probable that the Shambler was removed because he had a tendency to assault the Vores since he exists just behind them, which renders the final area considerably facile. The article ‘The’ was subtracted from this level’s name in the final version of Quake because it made the title excessively long and it drew over both the secret count and the edge of the screen. E3M7: the Wind Tunnels This map serves as episode 3’s secret level (instead of E3M5). End: Shub-Niggurath's Pit This map differs entirely from the the final version. Ranger commences in a square chamber that contains five 100 Health, and it sports a round and glass window across from the Slipgate. Walking into the window shall teleport Ranger into a dim corridor that contains two Fiends, a Double-Barrelled Shotgun, a Nailgun and two Shell boxes. There exists another Teleporter window on the left side and at the middle of the hall, which teleports Ranger to the final location. Ranger can backtrack through either Teleporter. The final area is a pentagonal place where the upper walls and the ceiling are textured with Water. There exist two raised Elevators to the right and to the left of the location Ranger teleports in at, and a triangular ramp directly in its front. As well, there exist five floating platforms that are above the arena. The ramp directs Ranger to a Grenade Launcher, and he can jump to a raised area that contains a Lava pentagram, which has a Thunderbolt in its center. At the top of this ramp, one can notice Shub-Niggurath. It is probable that one is intended to view her all of the time, but she becomes culled at certain heights or places within the arena. A Pentagram of Protection exists on a platform that’s across from the Thunderbolt. Two Shamblers, one Rocket Launcher, and one Super Nailgun on the pathway underneath it. Contact with the Thunderbolt shall cause three Fiends to be summoned into the arena, along with five Ogres on the levitating platforms, and two more Vores on the Elevators. While the other enemies are inconsequential, exterminating each Vore shall cause a sequential message to appear. Once both of them are exterminated, a Teleporter shall open underneath the platform that contains the Pentagram of Protection. It shall eject Ranger on top of Shub-Niggurath, but she exists without collision detection and Ranger will therefore simply clip through her, receiving a small amount of fall damage in the process. There exists a small and invisible collision box at the center of Shub-Niggurath that shall hemorrhage when shot, but after a few shots, it shall cease hemorrhaging and Shub-Niggurath shall no longer move. There is no other actions that can be performed, rendering this map impossible to finish. Note: Ranger can also enter the area with Shub-Niggurath via a simple oversight: jumping off either one of the platforms to which the elevators conduct themselves, landing on the small ledge that exists between the lower and upper walls, and finally walking along them until Ranger can leap into her pit. Multiplayer Levels Deathmatch Arena does not exist in this version, nor any of the levels that the Episode contained. Textual differences Weapons and Powerups * The Double-Barrelled Shotgun is referred to as the "super shotgun". * The Thunderbolt is referred to as the "lightning gun". * The Rune is referred to as the "sigil". * The Quad Damage is called the "Quake Power". Obituaries Old One, Shalrath and Wizard were still used as internal names, but the name "Piranha" was not retained for the Rotfish. * "Player" was eaten by a Fiend became "Player" was eviscerated by a Fiend. * "Player" was shot by an Enforcer became "Player" was blasted by an Enforcer. * "Player" was killed by a Death Knight became "Player" was slain by a Death Knight. * "Player" was killed by a Knight became "Player" was slashed by a Knight. * "Player" was killed by a Zombie became "Player" joins the Zombies. * "Player" was tarred by a Spawn became "Player" was slimed by a Spawn. * "Player" was gummed by a Piranha became "Player" was fed to the Rotfish. * "Player" was destroyed by an Old One became "Player" became one with Shub-Niggurath. * "Player" was finished by Shalrath became "Player" was exploded by a Vore. * "Player" was zapped by a Wizard became "Player" was scragged by a Scrag. * "Player" was crushed became "Player" was squished. Episode Completion Texts With the exception of the shareware version, every episode terminates with practically identical texts. In the final version, the episode ending messages were heavily modified to be more flavorful. The message to be displayed after all four of the runes were collected is nonexistent in the beta. Gallery QuakeBeta3-HelpScreen.png|The ‘Help’ screen QuakeBeta3-e1m1crates.png|Crates from E1M1 QuakeBeta3-e1m2crates.png|Altered crates from E1M2 Videos Quake Beta3 The Well of Wishes Awaits!|Somebody playing Beta3’s starting area. Quake Beta3 Shub-Niggurath's Pit|Somebody playing Beta3’s final map. References *The Cutting Room Floor Category:Beta